Assessment of Lake Sturgeon Reproductive Capacity and Associated Habitat Requirements in the North Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan River Systems

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This proposal, a collaboration with Husky Energy Ltd., concerns the management of risk factors affecting critically endangered Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) populations in the North Saskatchewan River. The initial objective was to better inform spawning and rearing habitat remediation efforts following an oil spill in spring 2016. Engage-funded research (2018) reported abundant spawning habitat in lower sections of the North Saskatchewan River, but did not detect spawning activity or spawn products. An unusually warm spring likely contributed to poor spawning conditions; water temperatures exceeded thresholds for Lake Sturgeon follicular development and egg incubation. Extreme water temperatures are an ongoing concern likely to accompany future climate change scenarios. To better evaluate links between spawning and available habitat, the research will focus on reproductive capacity within the population. Lake Sturgeon spawn intermittently due to an extended multi-year developmental cycle that differs for males and females. Typically, invasive procedures are required to distinguish between sexes and reproductive stages. Ultrasonography invites a new, non-invasive approach: adapting wireless handheld ultrasound vet scanners for the purpose of determining sex and reproductive capacity of Lake Sturgeon in the field. It would permit quantifying variable demand for spawning habitat in the Saskatchewan River system. This research has significant conservation value. It can allow fisheries managers to track proportionate investment and degree of synchrony among male and female spawners, permit future forecasts of spawning intensity, and assist in the delivery of instream flow needs. For Husky, and industries working in similar ecosystems, reproductive capacity would portend the risk of instream activities and help quantify the realized impacts of environmental perturbation. For Saskatchewan Polytechnic, this conservation-based research brings awareness to the endangered status of the Lake Sturgeon in the North Saskatchewan River, immediately adjacent to our home community of Prince Albert, and permits students & faculty researchers to develop applied, technological, analytical, and public outreach skills.